When picking out a wedding ring there are an incredible amount of things to consider. The very first being the type of metal that you will want to use. There are several types of metal available in the wedding market:

Gold: You can purchase yellow or white gold rings. Women can find them in all different styles, as well as men.

Silver: Silver is a less common wedding ring option, although you can find plenty of rings in the market. This option is less durable than the other metal options available and so that should really be considered. It is often purchased because of budget constraints.

Platinum: Platinum has become a very popular wedding band metal. It is very expensive, but durable and beautiful. It has a silver sheen to it.

Titanium: Titanium entered as a hit with men’s wedding bands, because of the ability to purchase it in several different sheens, but also because of how light weight it is. It can be easily bent and scratched though, so lifestyle is a very important factor when deciding if this is the right metal to go with.

Tungsten: Mens Tungsten carbide wedding rings are the newest rage. It is 4 times as hard as titanium and is very scratch resistant. When there is no cobalt in the metal it is very strong and will last forever. Tungsten can also be purchased in several shades of silver and also comes in black. There are lines of Tungsten bands for women as well.

The next important decision is the choice of stone(s) for the bride. Many brides are now getting diamonds, but also adding in a pearl or other precious stone for their more prominent stone. Pearls, rubies, sapphires, etc. are all options that can be incorporated into the wedding band. Whatever the stone it is important to learn about the quality of whatever stone you are getting. Diamonds are graded on their perfection and the more perfect they are the more clear they are, the more they sparkle and the more they cost. Sparkle is also dependent upon the cut of the diamond.

Women also need to decide what style of ring they want. This is often decided by their lifestyle and fashion preferences. Many women, for instance, don’t consider that they should have their main stone lowered, so as to cause less trouble by getting caught on things. Some women don’t care and just want a big stone that is placed high. Other women don’t even want rings with stones sticking out, they would rather have a flat ring, channel or otherwise, with the diamonds imbedded inside the ring.

Budget is the most important thing however. You must stay within budget. Tungsten and gold are very affordable and lasting options (although the sheen of gold may change over the years, but this gives it a very antique and classic look). Getting smaller and fewer diamonds can lower the price as well. Cubic zirconia is also an option to replace the diamonds altogether. They look quite beautiful and the untrained eye won’t be able to tell the difference between CZ and a real diamond – nor would most people care. Looking around and watching for sales is also a great option. There are plenty of good internet sites for buying high quality weddings rings at reduces prices, because they don’t have an overhead – in other words they don’t have to pay for huge advertising and show room costs.

You can find the right wedding ring and within your budget with a bit a research and a lot of looking. All of that looking is extremely important and well worth it, especially when you plan on wearing that ring forever.